Bottle With A Secure Cap

ABSTRACT

A bottle ( 1 ) with a secure cap ( 7 ), comprising a bottle having an open neck ( 2 ) and a first retaining flange ( 3 ) around at least a portion of the neck; and a push-on cap ( 7 ) fitted over the neck ( 2 ), the cap having an outlet with a valve ( 32 ) for controlling flow through the outlet and a second retaining flange ( 9 ) positioned so that, upon placement of the cap ( 7 ) on the bottle ( 1 ), the first and second retaining flanges ( 3,9 ) deflect relatively to one another as they pass and snap back into place once they have passed with a shoulder ( 41 ) of the first retaining flange engaging a shoulder ( 131 ) on the second retaining flange to hold the cap securely on the bottle.

The present invention relates to a bottle with a secure cap.

Caps are known in the art which are designed so that, once they havebeen attached to a bottle, they are difficult, in practice, to remove.Such caps are designed so that they cannot be removed by an averageperson using just their hands. It may, however, be possible for the capto be removed by the use of tools or in some other way applying anunusually high force, but any such removal will often result indestruction of the bottle.

Screw-on caps are known which have ratchet teeth which bias the lid insuch a way as to prevent engagement of the complimentary screw threadsas the lid is rotated in a direction opposite to the direction in whichit was screwed onto the lid. Whilst such mechanisms are effective, therequirement for a screw thread and the ratchet teeth results in a lidwhich is reasonably thick to accommodate the mechanism. Also, the shapeof a cap does not always lend itself to a screw thread engagement, forexample if the lower edge or outer skirt of the cap has a non-planerprofile.

A number of documents are known in the art (for example, U.S. Pat. No.4,022,464, U.S. Pat. No. 3,237,819, EP 1 847 472, GB 1 107 605 and U.S.Pat. No. 3,295,730) which disclosed snap-on lids, in which a limitedamount of rotation of the cap is specifically provided for in order toopen up dispensing orifices. Such containers are generally used for finepowdery material, such as talcum powder and the like. These closureshave nothing to do with the secure closure contemplated by the presentinvention.

The present invention is specifically designed for a bottle whichprovides a refill for soap and the like which is then dispensed by anautomatic dispenser. Once the refill is empty, if the user could removethe cap and refill the bottle, there is a danger that they would fillthe bottle with a product which was incompatible with the dispensingdevice, or would fail to replace the cap properly resulting in leakageinto a dispenser which would at best be messy and at worst would damagethe device.

One way of addressing this problem is disclosed in our earlierapplication GB 0820984.3. In this, we disclose a bottle with atamper-proof cap. This is designed with a retaining member for the lidwhich is held in place by a frangible member. The frangible member isbroken when the cap is removed so that the cap cannot subsequently beretained on the bottle.

While this is effective in achieving the purpose of preventing re-use ofthe bottle, because it allows the lid to be readily removed, if aconsumer inadvertently removes the lid, for example, if they wish tosmell the contents of the bottle, they will render the bottle unusable.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provideda bottle with a secure cap, comprising:

a bottle having an open neck and a first retaining flange around atleast a portion of the neck; and

a push-on cap fitted over the neck, the cap having an outlet with avalve for controlling flow through the outlet and a second retainingflange positioned so that, upon placement of the cap on the bottle, thefirst and second retaining flanges deflect relatively to one another asthey pass and snap back into place once they have passed with a shoulderof the first retaining flange engaging a shoulder on the secondretaining flange to hold the cap securely on the bottle;

one of the bottle neck and cap having a protrusion which fits into acomplimentary recess on the other of the bottle neck and cap tosubstantially prevent relative rotation of the cap and bottle.

The present invention therefore takes a fundamentally different approachfrom that of GB 0820984.3 in that, rather than preventing re-attachmentof the cap, it aims to prevent the cap from being removed at all.

The combination of the engaging shoulders of the first and secondretaining flanges, together with the means to prevent relative rotationof the cap and lid makes it very difficult for an average person to gainsufficient purchase on the cap to remove it readily. The mechanismcould, of course, be defeated by a determined effort, for example aperson inserting a knife or some other implement between the cap andbottle. However, the mechanism can be made robust enough to resist allbut the most determined efforts to remove it.

The first and second retaining flanges may be configured so that one orboth of them is arranged to be damaged if the cap is removed from thebottle thereby compromising the functionality of the cap.

Preferably, the cap is provided with an auxiliary flange which ispositioned so that, with the cap on the bottle, the first retainingflange is retained between the second retaining flange and the auxiliaryflange. The auxiliary flange acts to prevent inward deflection of thefirst retaining flange, thereby making it more difficult for the user todisengage the two shoulders.

Preferably, there is more than one protrusion and correspondingcomplimentary recess. The protrusion is preferably provided on thebottle while the recess is preferably provided on the lid. The recess ispreferably defined by a pair of ribs which extend between an outer skirtof the cap and an inner circumferential element which defines the secondretaining flange. This provides structural rigidity for the ribs.

Preferably, at least one of the protrusions, recesses first and secondshoulders are provided with bevelled edges to provide guide surfaces asthe cap is placed onto the bottle.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided abottle with a secure cap, comprising a bottle having an open neck and afirst retaining flange around at least a portion of the neck; and apush-on cap fitted over the neck, the cap having an outlet which isclosed by a closure which is openable by a non-rotational movement and asecond retaining flange positioned so that, upon placement of the cap onthe bottle, the first and second retaining flanges deflect relatively toone another as they pass and snap back into place once they have passedwith a shoulder of the first retaining flange engaging a shoulder on thesecond retaining flange to hold the cap securely on the bottle; one ofthe bottle neck and cap having a protrusion which fits into acomplimentary recess on the other of the bottle neck and cap to limit orprevent rotation of the cap and bottle.

The closure may be any element which does not rely on rotationalmovement of the cap in order to open. It could, for example, be apiercable foil but is preferably a resiliently deformable member such asa zel/slit valve or a valve member biased onto its seat by resilientlydeformable members.

An example of a secure cap will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the bottle;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the bottle;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bottle;

FIG. 4 is an underneath plan of the cap;

FIG. 5 is an underneath perspective of the cap;

FIG. 6 is a cross-section showing the cap on the bottle;

FIG. 7A is the partial cross-section of the cap and bottle just prior toinsertion of the bottle into the cap;

FIG. 7B is a similar view with the bottle fully inserted;

FIG. 7C is a similar view showing a slight rotation of the bottle withrespect to the cap;

FIG. 8 is an underneath perspective of a second example of the cap;

FIG. 9 is an underneath plan of a second example of the cap; and

FIG. 10 is a cross-section through the cap of FIGS. 8 and 9 and thelower end of the second bottle.

The bottle 1 is a generally rigid plastics container containing liquidsoap and the like. It is generally elliptical in cross-section as shownin FIG. 2. It may also be used to dispense other liquid or semi-liquidproducts (ideally with a viscosity greater than water), such as handcream, body lotion, moisturiser, face cream, shampoo, shower gel,foaming hand wash, shaving cream, washing-up liquid, toothpaste, or asanitising agent such as alcohol gel. The bottle is specificallydesigned to be used in an inverted configuration on an automaticdispenser. However, this does not form part of the present invention andwill not be described here.

The bottle has a neck 2 which is surrounded by a first retaining flange3. This may either be continuous around the circumference of the neck,or may be intermittent. As shown in FIG. 6, the retaining flange 3 isprovided with a projection having a tapered surface 4 on one side and ashoulder 4′ on the other for the reasons described below.

At diametrically opposed locations on the upper portion of the neck,there are a pair of protrusions 5 which have a tapered upper surface 6as shown in FIG. 3. There could equally be only one or more than two ofthese protrusions.

The cap 7 is best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The cap has a generallyelliptical shape corresponding to that of the bottle and is provided,from the inside out, with a circular auxiliary flange 8 which may or notbe continuous, a second retaining flange 9 described in more detailbelow and an outer skirt 10 having the elliptical shape of the lid andbeing provided with a pair of lugs 11 to locate on the dispenser (notshown). The auxiliary flange 8 also serves to seal against the innerwall of the neck 2.

The second retaining flange 9 is best shown in FIG. 6. This may beintermittent or circumferentially continuous and projects upwardly fromthe lower surface of the cap. The free end of the flange 9 is anenlarged portion 12 defining an upper tapered surface 13 and adownwardly facing shoulder 13′.

At diametrically opposed locations which correspond to the locations ofthe protrusion 5, the second retaining flange 9 is provided with anumber of notches 15 which allow the second retaining flange 9 todeflect as the bottle is inserted into the cap. Between each pair ofnotches 15 are a pair of radial ribs 16 which extend outwardly to theouter skirt 10. Between the ribs 16, the second retaining flange isinterrupted and this defines recesses 17 which accommodate theprotrusions 5. Circumferentially outwardly of the ribs 16 is a taperedsurface 18.

The manner in which the bottle 1 is inserted into the cap will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 7A. This shows the bottle partiallyinserted into the cap. In this case, the bottle is slightly out ofalignment with the cap and the tapered surfaces 6 on the protrusionsco-operates with the surfaces 18 in the cap to guide the bottle to thecorrect alignment. As the bottle is inserted, the tapered surface 4 onthe first retaining flange 3, co-operates with the tapered surface 13 onthe second retaining flange 9 to deflect it outwardly aided by thenotches 15 until the shoulders 4′, 13′ pass one another at which pointthe second flange 9 snaps back into place thereby securely locating theshoulders as shown in FIG. 6 retain the first flange 3 between thesecond flange 9 and auxiliary flange 8.

As shown in FIG. 7B, the protrusions 5 are within recesses 17. The capcan rotate to a small degree (less than 25°, more preferably less than20° and most preferably less than 15°) until the protrusions 5 abut oneof the ribs 16 (as shown in FIG. 7C) to prevent further rotation.

In this position, the cap is securely retained on the neck of the bottleand it is very difficult for a user to gain any purchase on the cap,particularly as they are unable to rotate it to any significant extent.In practice, the cap and neck are designed so that the cap cannot beremoved by force of less than 15 kg, preferably less than 20 kg, andmore preferably 30 kg. When such a force is applied, one of the firstthree and second flanges is designed to be broken or plasticallydeformed to such an extent that the cap can no longer be retained on thebottle.

It will also be noted from FIGS. 7A to 7C that, as well as having agenerally elliptical configuration, the upper edge 21 of the skirt 10and the facing surface 22 of the bottle 1 have a curved profile. Underthese circumstances, any significant relative rotation of the cap andbottle 1 would re-generate a significant force tending to separate thecap from the bottle. By preventing or significantly limiting relativerotation of the two components, this force cannot be applied. Also, ifthe cap could be rotated relatively to the bottle, because of thesubstantially elliptical shape, there would be a large overhang betweenthe bottle and cap which would allow the user to gain significantpurchase on the lid. Again, this is prevented by preventing orsignificantly limiting the relative rotation of the lid on the bottle.

Also shown in FIG. 6 is the valve mechanism. The lower surface of thecap has an outlet orifice 30 surrounded by an annular wall 31. The valveelement 32 sits on top of the wall 31 and is biased in place by theplurality of resilient members 33. An air inlet opening 34 shownschematically and is closed by a valve member 35. In use, the bottle isplaced into a base in the orientation shown in FIG. 6. The base isprovided with a spigot (not shown) the top of which is provided withcastellations. The spigot opens the valve element 32 against the actionof the resilient members 33 thereby creating a flow path beneath thevalve element 32 and through the castellations in the spigot. As liquidleaves the bottle 1, pressure drops and the lowering in pressure causesthe air inlet valve element 35 to open to allow air into the bottle.

The second example of a cap end bottle is shown in FIGS. 8 to 10. Thisis similar in most respect in the first example. The same referencenumerous have been used as appropriate. The same valve 32 and outlet 30shown in FIG. 6 will also be present although this is not shown in FIG.10.

The only difference relates to the configuration of the second retainingflange 9′. In this case, the continuous flange of the first example hasbeen replaced by a component with supported on a plurality of supportmembers 36 separated by gaps 37. Above each gap is a tapered surface 13′with a similar cross-section to the surface 13 on the first example. Asshown in FIG. 10, the engagement is similar to that of FIG. 6, althoughthe intermittent nature of the second retaining flange 9′ enablesgreater overlap between the two parts in the assemble state. Also, theprovision of a number of discrete sections engaging with the firstflange 3 increases the likelihood that one or more of these will bebroken as the cap is removed.

1. A bottle with a secure cap comprising: a bottle, having an open neckand a first retaining flange around at least a portion of the neck; anda push-on cap fitted over the neck, the cap having an outlet and asecond retaining flange positioned so that, upon placement of the cap onthe bottle, the first and second retaining flanges deflect relatively toone another as they pass and snap bad into place once they have passedwith a shoulder of the first retaining flange engaging a shoulder on thesecond retaining flange to hold the cap securely on the bottle; one ofthe bottle neck and cap having a protrusion Which fits into acomplimentary recess on the other of the bottle neck and cap tosubstantially prevent rotation of the cap and bottle.
 2. A bottleaccording to claim 1, wherein the first and second flanges areconfigured so that one or both of them is arranged to be damaged if thecap is removed from the bottle thereby compromising the functionality ofthe cap.
 3. A bottle according to claim 1, wherein the cap is providedwith an auxiliary flange which is positioned so that, with the cap onthe bottle, the first retaining flange is retained between the secondretaining flange and the auxiliary flange,
 4. A bottle according toclaim 1, wherein there is more than one protrusion and correspondingcomplimentary recess.
 5. A bottle according to claim 1, wherein therecess is defined by a pair of ribs which extend between an outer skirtof the cap and an inner circumferential element which defines the secondretaining flange.
 6. A bottle, according to claim 1, the outlet having avalve for controlling flow through the outlet.
 7. A bottle according toclaim 1, wherein the outlet is closed by a closure which is operable bya non-rotational movement.
 8. A bottle with a secure cap comprising: abottle having an open neck and a first retaining flange around at leasta portion of the neck; and a push-on cap fitted over the neck, the caphaving an outlet which is closed by a closure which is openable by anon-rotational movement and a second retaining flange positioned sothat, upon placement of the cap on the bottle, the first and secondretaining flanges deflect relatively to one another as they pass andsnap back into place once they have passed with a shoulder of the firstretaining flange engaging a shoulder on the second retaining flange tohold the cap securely on the bottle; one of the bottle neck and caphaving a protrusion which fits into a complimentary recess on the otherof the bottle neck and cap to limit or prevent rotation of the cap andbottle.
 9. A bottle according to claim 8, wherein the closure is aresiliently deformable member.
 10. A bottle according to claim 8,wherein the first and second flanges are configured so that one or bothof them is arranged to be damaged if the cap is removed from the bottlethereby compromising the functionality of the cap.
 11. A bottleaccording to claim 8, wherein the cap is provided with an auxiliaryflange which is positioned so that, with the cap on the bottle, thefirst retaining flange is retained between the second retaining flangeand the auxiliary flange.
 12. A bottle according to claim 1, whereinthere is more than one protrusion and corresponding complimentaryrecess.
 13. A bottle according to claim 1, wherein the recess is definedby a pair of ribs which extend between an outer skirt of the cap and aninner circumferential element which defines the second retaining flange.14. A bottle according to claim 1, the outlet having a valve forcontrolling flow through the outlet.